We are hiring a scientific programmer to work on tools for data-intensive projects and also mentor trainees in data science skills. A strong candidate would have a background in data science and teaching/mentorship, a passion for team science, and an interest in psychology and/or neuroscience.
More details are below and a link to apply can be found here.
Position Summary
The Center for Translational Neuroscience (CTN) at the University of Oregon is seeking a full time Programmer to enhance our scientific computation and data science resources. The Programmer will develop tools that will advance our research and that of others in CTN and the Psychology Department such as open source tools for data acquisition, preprocessing, and analysis. The programmer will also be a resource for graduate students and postdocs in the field of data science, providing mentorship and guidance for the research tools they are using, and making it easier for them to learn to program and troubleshoot those tools.
The Programmer will develop open source tools for data acquisition, processing, storage, sharing, and analysis (e.g., custom data pipeline scripts, open repository of tools used Center-wide, etc.). Additional responsibilities will include teaching graduate students and postdoctoral scholars basic programming and data science skills that will accelerate their current research and prepare trainees to use advanced computational tools and approaches in their future work. The Programmer will provide teaching through mentorship, and may also develop and lead workshops.
This is a unique position in a research center and fills an emerging, critical gap in expertise on interdisciplinary scientific teams. As such, the programmer will have the opportunity to work on a variety of scientific problems and with several different teams of researchers around campus.
This position is funded 2.5 years, with the possibility of extension if additional funding is identified.
Minimum Requirements
- Two years of full-time programming experience (professionally or extensively during graduate training).
- BA or BS in psychology, neuroscience, statistics, computer science, or related field.
Professional Competencies
- Demonstrated interest in science.
- Demonstrated skills in teaching or mentorship, particularly the ability to teach and work with non-expert coders.
- Expertise in Python.
- Familiarity with open-source software for neuroimaging analysis (e.g., BIDS apps, SPM, fsl).
- Demonstrated abilities in using shared code repositories (e.g., GitHub).
Preferred Qualifications
- Programming experience in academic research setting.
- Extensive teaching or mentorship experience.
- Established record of applying machine learning or other multivariate techniques to scientific data.
- Experience with containerization systems (e.g., Docker).
- Expertise with R.
- Experience interfacing with high-performance computational grids.
About the Center for Translational Neuroscience
The Center for Translational Neuroscience (CTN) at the University of Oregon has the mission of translating discoveries in basic neuroscience, psychology, and related disciplines to improve well-being, promote resilience, and mitigate the effects of early adverse experiences on physical and emotional health. CTN houses research projects, science communication initiatives, professional development, and intervention program development, implementation, and evaluation activities. The primary leadership of CTN are faculty in the Department of Psychology, where CTN is housed. Affiliated faculty work in departments across the university. In addition to faculty, CTN is home to numerous postdoctoral research associates, masters and doctoral graduate students, undergraduate research assistants, and University of Oregon employees. More information is available at http://ctn.uoregon.edu
About the Social and Affective Neuroscience (SAN) Lab
The mission of the Social and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Oregon is to generate knowledge about goals, motivation, and self-regulation using tools from psychology and neuroscience and translate that knowledge to inform inform pressing social issues. The purpose of this work is to enrich society and drive innovation in theory, methods, and applications. Our work uses rigorous, open, and interdisciplinary scientific methods while fostering a supportive, robust, and bespoke training environment. All of our research and training activities reflect our deeply held values of knowledge generation and communication, inclusion, and transparency. More information is available at http://sanlab.uoregon.edu
About UO
The University of Oregon (UO) is classified as a Carnegie Doctoral/Research University–Extensive and has a history of substantial research, federal grant funding, and scientific inquiry. The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), which includes the Department of Psychology where most CTN researchers are based, comprises 40 departments and programs, with 463 tenure-track faculty. The research activity of CAS faculty is the basis for the UO’s status as a Carnegie Research I institution and its membership in the Association of American Universities. In the past 5 years, three faculty have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, three named Sloan Research Fellows, five elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, five named Guggenheim Fellows, seven elected as American Mathematical Society Fellows, and nine elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, with an additional faculty member elected as president of the AAAS. UO provides comprehensive instructional, research, and public service programs that advance scientific and humanistic knowledge. Research programs serve the educational, cultural, and economic needs of the region and the nation. Administrative units provide direct oversight and support for graduate programs, grant proposal submission, research compliance, contracts and grant administration, and research initiatives.
